Djokovic, Nadal, Swiatek lead Olympics entry list

LONDON: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray all were included on the entry list for tennis at the Paris Olympics released by the International Tennis Federation on Thursday, as was Daniil Medvedev, who technically will be competing as a “neutral” athlete rather than representing Russia because of that country’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

Djokovic (Serbia) and Murray (Britain) are both 37, and Nadal (Spain) is 38, and all own multiple Grand Slam titles. Djokovic holds a men’s-record 24 major trophies  but he has never won a gold medal at the Olympics.

Nadal, next on the men’s Slam list with 22, won golds in singles in 2008 and in doubles in 2016. He skipped Wimbledon, which is currently being played, to prepare for the Olympics.

Murray won three major championships and is the only tennis player with consecutive singles gold medals at the Summer Games. He has said he plans to retire after the Paris Olympics, which will hold tennis matches from July 27 to Aug. 4 on the clay courts at Roland Garros, the site of the French Open  where Nadal is a 14-time champ.

Swiatek is a five-time Grand Slam champion  including at the French Open in four of the past five years  and Gauff and Rybakina have won one major apiece. Gauff made the U.S. team for the Tokyo Games three years ago, but she did not go because she tested positive for COVID-19.

There are 64-player draws for women’s and men’s singles, and 32 teams each in women’s and men’s doubles. The 16 entries for mixed doubles will be determined on July 24. The draw to determine the brackets will be in Paris on July 25.